Stent deployment devices are utilized to direct the placement of a stent in a human or animal body and to ultimately eject and deploy a stent in a targeted lumen. Conventional stent deployment methods and devices can only be used with stents, as opposed to stent grafts. This is because known stent restraint mechanisms that prevent premature deployment must physically interact with the stent wires. This interaction is not possible with a stent graft because the graft covering prevents the stent restraint from locking onto the wireframe of a stent graft.
In addition, a stent often has a constrained, compressed length that is much longer than its unconstrained, expanded length. These customary methods and devices deploy stents in a manner that moves the stent in a back-and-forth motion. This results in the stent structure making delayed contact with the target lumen's wall and the stents become elongated in vivo.